Sunday, May 22, 2005

For some reason, my age and years past have been cropping up all day long, so here's some stuff you might not know, you whippersnapper, you.

I'm going to limit my travel through time to two things that are important to me. Music and medicine baby, from this point on. Well maybe, I'll throw in some silly stuff, too.

Let's start in 1975. Did you realize that Walk This Way by Aerosmith was published thirty years ago? How about Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here? Damn,I remember when these two songs came out. I actually still have the vinyl. I am just glad that I didn't buy the eight tracks. And I actually heard both songs on the radio today. Good stuff and thirty years old, no doubt.

The first artificial heart was implanted in a human in 1975 by Dr. John Norman. And for those of you who missed my posts for the entire month of February, he was a black man, educated at Harvard. *Gasp* Oddly enough, it was another ten years before someone actually left the hospital with an artificial heart. No, that comment was not because he was Black, it's because some people think that advances in medicine occur overnight. Wrong Gomer, it takes a little more time than that.

Funny thing about 1975: Japanese soldier Teruo Nakamura surrenders on the Indonesian Island of Morota, thirty years after the war is over.

While I hesistate to mention the number one single of 1985, I would be remiss if I didn't. Dammit, it's Wham's Careless Whisper. We Are the World was also released in 1985. Madonna's Like a Virgin was a chart topper, too. Man, music fell hard in the period between '75 and '85, huh? For those of you who really want to hurt, Starship released We Built This City in 1985. G_d forbid.

Mapping of the genomes of HIV-1 and human papillomavirus type 16 occurred twenty years ago. Yep, scientists figured out what the AIDS virus was twenty years ago in January of 1985. AZT was developed less than four months later. Still ain't got no cure for AIDS.

Some asides: That operating system "Windows" was developed in 1985, too. Does anyone still use that? Scientists also discovered a hole in the ozone layer over Antartica when ozone levels fell to their lowest point in September of '85. By the way, that hole closed less than two weeks later by itself and we didn't even have to stop driving cars, Al Gore.

Whizzing on to 1995: Best new artist was Hootie and the Blowfish, and album of the year was Jagged Little Pill by Alanis Morissette. Seems a lot longer than ten years ago for me, but anyhoo. Seal had song of the year with Kiss from a Rose. Was that one from the Batman with that absolute dumbass, Val Kilmer?

While on the medical front: The FDA approves alprostadil, the first drug for treatment of male impotence. It must be injected into the penis. NO, NO, NO, NO. I'll stick with the oysters. Also, the two genes responsible for the early onset of familial Alzheimer's disease were mapped. Again, no cure for Alzheimer's.

And finally a fun fact about 1995: The World Trade Organization was founded to replace GATT. What, that is not another one of George W. Bush's things? Well, no, actually Bill Clinton was President then.

Why'd you start with 1975? I remember that as being the big lead-up to the bicentennial, and the year I saw such exciting things as the Crazy Horse monument (at that time just a hole in the rock), Mt. Rushmore, and many other wonders of this great country of ours.

And hey, I was really into Madonna in 1985...but I agree on the We Are the World call.